Butyltins in marine waters of The Netherlands in 1988 and 1989; Concentrations and effects

Specific effects of tributyltin (TBT) on Crassostrea gigas—valve thickening, and Nucella lapillus—imposex, were measured on local populations, relatively clean unaffected species from England were transferred to the Netherlands and exposed during six weeks to ambient TBT concentrations. Near marinas 50% of the exposed species were sterile after six weeks. In general, no dissolved butyltins were detected in the Rhine and Scheldt estuaries. In 1988 TBT concentrations in marinas ranged from 120 to 4000 ng litre⁻¹. In sediments (fraction <60 μm) and suspended particulate matter TBT concentrations reached up to 1200 ng g⁻¹. TBT concentrations in mussel tissue ranged from <1 to 2300 ng g⁻¹ based on a dry weight. In 1989 concentrations of dissolved TBT ranged from <0·1 to 7200 ng litre⁻¹. In 1989 a seasonal study in the marina of Colijnsplaat showed that dissolved butyltins increased from April to the end of May due to the launching of freshly painted boats, and decreased afterwards.     

A Reliability Analysis of Rainwater Catchment System

Water Resources - This article examines the reliability of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in subcatchment area. Using water balance simulation and two definitions of this value (time-based and...     

On the origin of the western Mediterranean Sea basins

This is a report of a symposium organized by the Netherlands Commission for the Upper Mantle Project. The data relative to the generation of the western Mediterranean Sea basins, presented during this symposium, are summarized in the Appendix.

Several modes of origin have been discussed:

1. (1) the basins are remnants of a former larger ocean;

2. (2) they are formed in the wake of drifting continental blocks;

3. (3) by an erosion and denudation of a continental crust;

4. (4) by an upheaval and later subsidence of an ocean floor; or

5. (5) by sub crustal erosion of a continental crust.

It is concluded that, although many data are in agreement with the drift model, this process cannot have been the sole agent in the generation of the basins.     

Composition of widespread volcanic glass in deep-sea sediments of the Southern Pacific Ocean: an Antarctic source inferred

Widespread Plio-Pleistocene (2.43-0.06 Ma) tephra zones recognised in deep-sea cores from high latitudes (>60°) in the Southern Pacific Ocean were thought to have originated from calc-alkaline rhyolitic eruptions in New Zealand, some 5000 km distant. Electron microprobe analyses of the glasses reveal a wide diversity of alkalic felsic compositions, as well as minor components of basic and intermediate glasses, incompatible with a New Zealand Neogene source but similar to contemporaneous eruptives from the Antarctic region. Most tephra zones are trachytic; seven zones are peralkaline rhyolite. The rhyolitic zones represent a deep-sea record of widespread silicic eruptions from continental Antarctica, possibly Marie Byrd Land. The extent of these rhyolitic zones suggest a greater frequency of large explosive eruptions in Antarctica than previously documented. The coarse grain size of some of the shards (up to 3 mm), their great distance from the closest sources (>1600 km for some cores), and the presence of nonvolcanic ice-rafted debris indicate some of the glasses, especially the more basic compositions, may have been ice-rafted, contrary to previous suggestions of a fallout origin.     

Note on the determination of the best-fitting plane for a given set of directions

Summary Using Lagrange's multiplicator, a least-squares solution for the position of the plane that is in best accord with a finit number of directions is derived. Reference is made to a seismo-tectonic problem to which the solution can be applied.     

Some reliable fault plane solutions

Summary The reliability of earthquake fault plane solutions usingP andPKP first motion data is discussed. Effects of the usefulness of the individual data, of the number and distribution of data around the focus, of great velocity contrasts in the focal region, and of the kind of projection technique are considered. The increase of the number of inconsistent data by a change in position of the three principal axes can be used as a more or less objective measure for the reliability of a solution.A selection of 52 mantle shock solutions is presented. More than 75% of these shocks is of the thrust (or block) and the normal or reverse fault motion type. Transcurrent type shocks decrease from 40 to 50% in the upper 200 km of the mantle to less than 15% below this level. Thrust (or block) type fault motions clearly represent the normal reaction of the deeper mantle material to earthquake generating stresses.